[ Testimony ] Early Ministry 1993

[JaganMohanCV]

Early Ministry (Start Up) Establishment of our church
"Go into all the world and preach the good news" Mark 16:15

In 1993 my wife and I were called, by the Grace of God to go into Northern India, a place where the Gospel had not been preached. I had been working as project coordinator for World Vision in Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab and Hariyana, in Northern India. The Lord put on our hearts to become a church planter. We prayed and asked God to send us to a place where there were no Christians. He led us to a village known as Maloya.

The people of Maloya are Hindu and Sikh. Everyday we would walk a 18 kilometer round trip to hand out Gospel tracts to the people. In the beginning we were collecting discarded tracts because the people were not interested. Many people mocked us, because they thought we were there just to have fun and not work.

For one year there was no response. It was very hard on us because we had no family or friends to fall back on, but we continued. One day a Hindu man stopped us and questioned what we were doing. We introduced ourselves as full time ministers of God and shared our testimony, and the Gospel, with him. He was very interested in our message and us. He soon shared his problems with us, he suffered from epilepsy and the doctors could not give him relief. He was also in great financial debt. We told him that through Jesus Christ there is hope. That very day, he and his family accepted Jesus as their savior. We prayed for him and he was delivered from epilepsy and soon after was given a job as a cook. He managed to get out of debt and was able to keep his home. We then began praying, teaching and counseling them over the next month. However, their neighbors tried to discourage them from associating with Christians. One woman, who was possessed by a spirit, told this man and his family not to believe what we were teaching them, so they chose to come to our house. They were so amazed at the love we showed them that they decided to never return to Hinduism.

One by one his extended family came to know Jesus as their savior. Many other people in the community also heard of the miracles that happened and came to hear about this hope. After ten years, we have had the privilege of baptizing 325 new believers from the village of Maloya!

Our church has grown so much that we are in need of expansion; currently we have a very small building to hold our services. From our own church, and by the Grace of God, we have raised three servants of God - all from those who had been saved from the Hindu community by our ministry from Maloya - and sent them to different parts of Punjab to spread the Word. Five Sunday school centers have been established and VBS is also being conducted every year in June. Also, we have a day care center for poor children. These children are rescued from streets and poor homes, etc, and given a meal and education. We ask no money of these communities. These are the channels being used to draw adults and children to Christ's Kingdom in this area that holds persecution towards Christianity. In spite of all the hurdles and opposition to the True Word, the Kingdom of God is extending by preaching, teaching, holding seminars and Sunday Schools.

TO DATE WE HAVE ESTABLISHED 6 CENTERS WITH 60 CHILDREN IN EACH CENTER.